Rain and fog troubles the Dragons

A thick fog rolled onto WIN Stadium as rain lashed the hearty and brave St George Illawarra Dragon supporters. They had little to celebrate however as the Dragons side started and finished in woeful fashion against a much more intelligent Brisbane side, the Broncos winning the encounter by 28 to 14.

Nothing went right from the start for the Dragons as they struggled to hold onto the ball, bumbling possession away too easily.

The Broncos' kicking game and rock solid defence set them up for three tries in the first half as a thick blanket of fog enveloped the pitch. At half time, the Broncos led by 14 to 6.

In the second half the Dragons continued to surrender possession, trip over their own shoe laces and generally looked a mess. The only consolation for the red and whites was two late tries to finish the game.

Saints next play competition front-runners the Roosters and may do so without Trent Barrett or Shaun Timmins - with both coming off injured tonight - potentially throwing them a fatal curve ball before the finals.

By the clock:
The dust has settled, with the Origin series over and done with both sides will have a hole stack of stars back for this friday night clash between the two NRL heavyweights.
Late changes: Andrew Frew & Michael Howell have replaced John Carlaw & Mark Gasnier for the Dragons side. Centre David Stag comes in for the Broncos and Dane Carlaw comes out. Earlier showers have left Win Stadium's surface wet.

0 min: Dragons kickoff

3 min: Try - Broncos. Excellent start for the Broncos! Darren Lockyer puts in a short kick into the in-goal, Casey McGuire is in support and gets the goods. Darren Lockyer's conversion attempt goes wide. 4-0 Broncos

7 min: News - The Broncos are creating havoc on the short side of the field, Darren Lockyer knocks the ball on coming incredibly close to scoring a well deserved try.

11 min: News - Sean Hampstead pings the Dragons for a sheppard which would of set Ben Creagh up for a try. Trent Barrett is down on the ground suffering from a head knock.

16 min: Try - Dragons. Nice work by Mark Riddell out of dummy half drawing in several Broncos defenders before passing it to the try scorer Shaun Timmins. Matthew Head converts. 6-4 Dragons

20 min: News - Both sides are being penalised for infringing at the play the ball area. A thick fog has also covered WIN stadium.

38 min: Try - Broncos. Karmichael Hunt running out of dummy half puts in a grubber kick to set up Craig Frawley for the try. Lockyer's conversion attempt just misses. 14-4 Broncos

HALF TIME:
The Broncos have got their tales up at the break.
Ball handling has become difficult in conditions like this but the Broncos have exposed the pairing of Andrew Frew & David Howell aiming alot of the attack at them.
Their kicking has been superior as has their go-forward.
I'd be suprised if Trent Barrett stays on the field as he quite clearly struggling with an injury, the Dragons are still in the game but they need some ball which they lacked in the first half.
14-6 Brisbane Broncos are leading at the break.
HALF TIME stats:
Possession: 57% in favour to the Broncos
Penalties: 4-4
Errors: Dragons 5-3
Completions: Dragons 16/21; Broncos 15/18
Tackles: Dragons 165-121
Mistackles Dragons 16-10

40 min: Broncos kickoff, the second half is under way

40 min: News - Trent Barrett has not come back onto the field.

42 min: News - The Dragons just cant mount any pressure as Ben Hornby knocks the ball on from dumnmy half.
Rain is starting to fall.

44 min: News - The Broncos draw and pass, Craig Frawley is tackled by Lincoln Withers before sliding about 5 metres over the sideline in a try saving situation.